Money Is What We Need

Money came into existence to answer a need of mankind, but this need did not arise until civilization had grown beyond its earliest stage. Primitive man lived by hunting, each hunting only for himself and his family or tribe. At such a stage when strangers were avoided or driven away, money and even trade were unnecessary. Later when he had learnt to domesticate wild animals, man lived a nomadic and pastoral life, constantly wandering as he drove his flocks and herds to new pastures. As the road to wealth was then the possession of beasts, money in its modern form was still not necessary, although the beasts themselves were a form of money. It would suit what few craftsmen there were to be paid for their wares in cattle and farmers and herdsmen to pay in that way.
      When human communities began to settle down and cultivate the land, instead of wandering over it with their flocks and herds, the division of labour increased and people specialized in crafts and trades. Most men specialized in growing or producing something of which only a very small portion was necessary for their own wants. So they had to get rid of their surplus. In exchange for it, they wanted something which would give them the power to choose what they wanted from the surpluses of other people. A few transactions might take place in straight-forward exchange or barter, but only certain things could be treated in this way. It was unlikely for instance, that a shoe-maker needing supplies if corn for his family from time-to-time would always find that the farmer would take shoes in exchange. It would be more convenient, if there were some other objects that would always be useful to both the shoe-maker and the farmer.
      Once the people have agreed what this other objects is to be and once they are prepared always to accept it or offer it in payment, then we have money in its primitive form. It is the go-between in all business transactions or as the economists say, ‘a medium of exchange’....